Only 9% feared GDP growth would fall to below 4% while 46% predicted growth would remain in the range of 4-5%.

Almost two-thirds also thought the rupee will recover from its current low against the dollar and they expected a rate of 66 to the dollar in a year's time.

As many as 29% thought the rupee could strengthen to 62 to the dollar, even though the rupee depreciated sharply to 69 over the past couple of weeks.

Ajay Piramal, chairman of the eponymous diversified group, said he didn't expect the economic situation to worsen and remained optimistic that growth could recover to over 6% if the economy is managed well.

Such confidence found further expression with 78% of CEOs saying they intended to use investment and innovation to fight their way out of the slowdown.

"The smarter companies will live by 'less is more' and 'deep before wide' by focusing their strategy to create a few strong brands that can dominate," said Rajiv Bajaj, managing director of Bajaj Auto.

However, he and others insisted that the government also needed to play its part by tackling infrastructure bottlenecks, improving labour laws and clearing up policy ambiguities.

"Yes, there is volatility, but fundamentally I think India is in a much stronger place today," concluded Sonjoy Chatterjee, chairman of Goldman Sachs India.